John R. Newbury was born in Burlington, Wisconsin in 1903. He attended Lawrence beginning in the fall of 1926, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in the spring of 1930. During his time at Lawrence, John was actively involved in Phi Kappa Tau and Pi Delta Epsilon. He toured with the Glee Club during his sophomore and junior years, worked for the Lawrentian during his sophomore and junior years and served as its business manager in his senior year, and participated in Schola Cantorum for all four years.

After graduating from Lawrence, John settled in Appleton and briefly worked as a dairy deliveryman before starting his own set-up box company in 1936. The company, Appleton Paper Products, supplied boxes for a number of Appleton businesses. He married Edna Newbury in 1938, and they had two daughters. John retired in 1964. He remained actively involved with Lawrence University alumni groups and reunion activities until his death in 2004. He and his wife provided endowed funds for the John and Edna Newbury Scholarship at Lawrence.

Scope and Contents: This collection is composed of the correspondence and miscellaneous papers of John R. Newbury, a member of the Lawrence University class of 1930. The bulk of the materials date from Newbury’s time as a student at Lawrence from 1926 to 1930. In addition to correspondence received from family and friends while in school, the collection contains materials documenting the men’s Glee Club and the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, coursework, as well as a series of student expense books in which Newbury detailed his daily expenses during his four years in school.